416 - Oceania Tree News

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416 - Oceania Tree News

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In this Issue:

 

Oceania includes New Zealand, Australia, Eastern Indonesia and most of

the South Pacific Islands,

 

Index:

 

--Fiji: 1) True value of Mahogany and Pine being estimated

 

--French Polynesia: 2) Motu Manu rainforest

 

--Indonesia: 3) Annual rainforest burning season, 4) More from New

Yorker's article on Illegal logging, 5) In Guinness Book of Records

for deforestation again! 6) Wood stocks audited throughout the supply

chain,

 

--Papua: 7) Greenpeace says Save pristine rainforests! 8) Observations

from the air in the Lereh region, 9) Esperanza arrives, 10) More

observations from the air,

 

--Papua New Guinea: 11) Governance surrounding forestry is out of control,

 

--Solomon Islands: 12) Unsustainable timber made up 73 per cent of total export

 

--New Zealand: 13) New industry advertising campaign: " breathe in and

hold, " 14) Twelve serious buyers expressing interest for the 140,000ha

estate, 15) Cobalt deficiency in soil is no excuse for deforestation,

16) Greens want imports of illegally logged timber halted,

 

--Australia: 17) More on saving Murray River Blue Gums, 18) Wild

Wielangta defends Swift Parrot habitat, 19) Gunns' hired celebrity

will not be drawn into televised debate, 20) History of Victorian

nature lovers and enviros since 1995, 21) Workshops about

unsustainable logging in South West native forests, 22) NSW is

illegally logging river red gum forests, 23) NSW police warn

protesters, 24) 40 scientists sign open letter to Premier, 25)

Forestry union's warns that too much native forest is being harvested,

26) World's tallest hardwood tree discovered in Tasmania, 27) More on

Gunns' celebrity hired to misrepresent facts, 28) Immediately ban

logging in all water catchment areas! 29) Activists disrupt logging in

Tasmania, 30) Wife of a convener of Australian Conservation Foundation

destroys forest, 31) Protestors charged $10,000 for being successful

at stopping logging,

 

Articles:

 

Fiji:

 

 

1) The Ministry for Lands will be working closely with stakeholders

and landowners to ensure that all mahogany and pine forests in the

country are surveyed to determine the true value of the forests in

Fiji. The Permanent Secretary for Lands, Maria Matavea says there are

fourteen mahogany plantations which make up about 58,000 hectares in

Fiji and most of these sit on unsurveyed native land. Some of the

biggest areas identified by the Lands Ministry are in Galoa in Serua,

Naboutini, and Nukurua in Tailevu. Smaller areas includes Wainunu,

Bua, Sawakasa in Tailevu and Navonu in Cakaudrove. Matavea also stated

that the survey would start as soon the budget for 2009 is announced

as it is top priority for her Ministry, this is to be in line with the

Cabinet decision on the 23rd of September this year.

http://www.radiofiji.com.fj/fullstory.php?id=15020

 

French Polynesia:

 

2) Residents of Ahe are also particularly proud of their Motu Manu

rainforest. A rarity on any atoll, these trees were planted by the

Spanish 300 years ago. It is a marvellous refuge for migrating sea

birds and for very large spiders. From the calm lagoon we walk through

the rainforest across the small island and reach the ocean pounding a

shell-covered shore. Within minutes, I collect a handful of big cowrie

shells, but I soon toss them aside when Franck shows us the rare

oursin tortue, a strange sea creature endemic to just 100m along this

beach. This is a favourite place for turtles to lay eggs each

November. We leave the rainforest and again plough by boat across the

lagoon to the island's communal fish trap. Franck dons mask and

snorkel and dives in, trying to persuade us to join him. But we are

reluctant starters, because although there are good-sized parrot fish

ready for the pickings, there is also a shark, bigger than us,

swimming around the trap.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24425870-5002031,00.html

 

 

Indonesia:

 

3) Narrated by Hugh Jackman, this exploration by Australian filmmaker

Cathy Henkel of Indonesia's annual rainforest burning season is

insightful, scary and ever so slightly hopeful. The burning season

contributes massively to global warming, covers South-East Asia in a

haze of pollution and threatens the survival of Indonesia's forests

and the orang-utan. Henkel tells the story of Indonesian palm oil

farmer Achmadi who burns rainforest to feed his family; Danish-born

Lone Droscher-Nielsen who cares for scores of orang-utans left sick

and displaced by forest fires; and Australian environmental

entrepreneur Dorjee Sun who thinks he has a solution to both their

problems. The young Aussie wants to establish a carbon trading scheme

that effectively values forests for their carbon storage, not their

timber or palm oil. Under his plan, carbon credits represented by

forest areas would be sold to big polluters in the West. But with time

fast running out for the trees and the orang-utans, he has to build

the profile and the credibility of his scheme quickly if there are to

be any credits to trade. This splendid documentary is

thought-provoking but not polemical. It illuminates a complex problem

in a way that's surprisingly engrossing and easily understood.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/tv--radio/tv-reviews/the-burning-sea\

son/2008/10/13/1223749922718.html

 

4) E.I.A. began to focus on illegal logging after receiving a plea for

help from scientists working in the jungles of Southeast Asia. In

1999, Biruté Mary Galdikas, a leading expert on orangutans and an

acolyte of Louis Leakey, told Thornton that men with chain saws were

cutting into protected Indonesian forests where she had been

conducting her research. " It turned out that someone had just

illegally redrawn the boundary of the park so that the local timber

baron could have access to the trees, " Thornton said. Indonesia is

home to more endangered species than any other place in the world, and

logging was conducted in a state of near total anarchy. By the late

nineteen-nineties, the government estimated that as much as seventy

per cent of the country's total timber harvest was illegal, and the

World Bank calculated that Indonesia was losing three and a half

billion dollars annually because of it. In a series of undercover

investigations, E.I.A. and an Indonesian group called Telapak

discovered that many loggers were targeting a tree called ramin, which

had great strength, was easy to stain, and could be sliced into thin

pieces. Ramin turned up in the West in countless cheap items:

paintbrushes, two-dollar pool cues, dowels. Even after Indonesia

banned the export of ramin, in 2001, the wood was still smuggled out

of the country in large volumes. Von Bismarck's first undercover job,

he told me, was " following the ramin trail. " By temperament and

upbringing, he seemed well suited for clandestine operations. He once

told me that his favorite book, which he had read in the fourth grade,

was " All the King's Men. " When I asked him why, he said, " In terms of

how the world works, you have people interacting in a very sensible

way, and in some cases it added up to corruption, and in some cases it

added up to good things. The book presents a very complicated system,

a muddled world, but also a very human world. " Von Bismarck's family

life was also complicated and muddled and very human, of course, and

Gottfried, his father, told me that " as a result, I think, he has

developed a great ability to integrate conflicting parties. "

Occasionally, I heard von Bismarck speak empathetically about the very

people he was trying to catch— " poor guys doing really hard work,

destroying the natural resources of their own area, and getting

arrested. "

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/10/06/081006fa_fact_khatchadourian

 

5) In the Guinness Book of Records (GWR) 2009 Edition released this

month, Indonesia is once again referred to as the country with the

world's highest rate of deforestation. Citing the FAO's State of the

World's Forests 2007 (SOFO), the country has " destroyed " its forests

at a rate of 1.8 million hectares annually during the period 2000 to

2005. Indonesia was also listed with the record in the previous

edition. Last July, Indonesia also placed poorly at 102 of 149

countries in the 2008 Environmental Performance Index published by

Yale and Columbia Universities. The poor position is mainly due to the

minimum score for forest management as deforestation in the country

was seen as very massive. Jakarta has been angered by such notorious

images and subsequently questioned the validity of data and

methodology used. It hit back that neither were based on scientific

merit, and were only a " piece of sensationalism " for political

agitation. The Forestry Ministry officially released the country's

annual deforestation in its 2006 Forestry Statistics of only 1.08

million hectares over the same period. Interestingly, the data was

developed based on FAO's definition of forests -- the same data used

in the GWR and SOFO 2007. Judging whose arguments are scientifically

sound should be based on precise use of some key terms, such as

" forests " , " deforestation " and " degradation " . However, various

attempts to define those terms result in unclear definitions. It is

not uncommon for different agencies to selectively adopt, use and

interpret different definitions and information depending on their

tastes and values, even for tendentious purposes. Let us start by

recalling the definitions of important terms by some agencies. First,

it is worth to compare the extent to which a particular canopy cover

is classified as a forest. The FAO in its final definition in the

Global Forest Resources Assessment Update 2005 uses " more than 10

percent " . On the other hand, environmental groups usually adopt more

stringent criteria. For instance, Greenpeace in its " World Intact

Forest Landscape " adopts " 20 percent or more " . Also in some cases,

they do not refer to " plantations " as " forests " , but " wood gardens " .

Clearly, due to the different definitions of " forests " , the forest

tracts a particular country has will be different. It is also worth

noting that there is a spectrum of values on " deforestation " . First,

instead of " deforestation " or " forest loss " , such emotive terms as

" assault " and " destruction " , are nonexistent in the FAO and " forestry

societies " across the globe, while they are employed by many

environmental groups, to psychologically touch and raise concerns

amongst contemporary society.

http://old.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20081006.E03 & irec=2

 

6) The Indonesian Forestry Ministry's bold move to require forestry

companies to have their wood stocks audited throughout the supply

chain to ensure the wood is derived from sustainably managed forests

could go a long way in reducing illegal logging in the country. Hadi

Pasaribu, the Forestry Ministry's director general for the management

of forestry production, who revealed the new policy recently, did not

elaborate as to when the audit -- internationally known as forest

certification scheme -- would be mandatory for wood-based companies.

But surely the new measure needs thorough preparation because the

audit or certification process requires independent certifiers who

must be accredited according to the international standards as those

applied by the Bonn-based Forest Stewardship Council. It is

international market forces (consumers and traders) united into a

global green consumer campaign that have forced wood-based companies

to have their wood certified as green by independent certifying

companies. Hence, whatever the system used by the Forestry Ministry

for the wood audit, an inspection or certification scheme, it must be

based on international standards to gain international recognition.

Wood audit for forest certification aims at verifying that a

particular wood is derived from sustainably managed forests. This

process requires companies in the whole wood supply chain to hold

chain-of-custody certificates so that the label or bar-code can follow

the word from the forests to the finished product. The chain of

custody itself is the process of wood harvesting, primary and

secondary processing, manufacturing, distribution and sales. The wood

audit, as referred to by Pasaribu, inspects each of these processing

steps to ensure that the timber or wood originated from forests which

are being managed in accordance with social, environmental and

economic aspects of sustainable forest management.

http://naturealert.blogspot.com/2008/10/audits-could-curb-illegal-logging.html

 

Papua:

 

7) Indonesia must do more to save pristine rainforests in Papua from

destruction, particularly with plans to open up huge tracts of land to

develop palm oil plantations, environmentalists said on Wednesday. The

rapidly expanding palm oil industry in Southeast Asia has come under

attack by green groups for destroying rainforests and wildlife, as

well the emission of greenhouse gases. " Although the deforestation

rate in Papua is still low, the threat is very high, for instance,

with palm oil plantation expansion, " Bustar Maitar of Greenpeace said.

He was speaking by telephone from aboard a ship the group is using to

tour Indonesia's easternmost province to raise awareness on forests

and climate change. Indonesia's administration in Papua has said it is

opening up to 15 million acres (6 million hectares) of land for palm

oil, despite earlier pledges to save Indonesia's last forest frontier

by tapping carbon trading projects. Alex Hesegem, Papua's deputy

governor, said at least 93,000 hectares of land had been opened for

palm oil plantations, but that was being done following environmental

principles and government regulations. " Some regencies have signed a

contract with the government and private companies for this palm oil

plantation and some more will sign a contract in the near future, "

Hesegem told Reuters. Activists said they suspected some companies

aimed to use the licenses for logging. " In my estimation, the maximum

they can open is 200-300 thousand hectares because the contour of the

area is mountainous, " said Jefri Saragih of Sawit Watch, a pressure

group that monitors the impact of palm oil on forests. The United

Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a report that

Indonesia was suffering the fastest forest loss in the world at almost

1.9 million hectares per year. Indonesia, the world's biggest palm oil

producer, produced 17.18 million tons of crude palm oil in 2007, and

production is expected to rise to 18.6 million tons this year.

http://papuastory.wordpress.com/2008/10/09/indonesia-papua-forests-seen-under-pa\

lm-oil-threat/

 

8) Observations from the air in the Lereh region near Papuan capital

Jayapura showed palm oil producers including Indonesian giant Sinar

Mas had started widespread clearing to make way for palm oil

plantations, Maitar said. Continued clearing and expansion of the

concessions will have a devastating impact on Papua's forests, Maitar

said, adding the land-clearing is allowed under Indonesian law.

Greenpeace in a statement called for an immediate moratorium on all

forest conversion in Papua, which has so far been largely isolated

from Indonesia's palm oil boom by poor transport links. Fears are that

the expansion of palm oil and logging could send Papua down the road

of other Indonesian islands Sumatra and Borneo, where land-clearing

and the illegal logging that has followed has stripped once-great

forests. " It is crucial that the last remaining intact tracts of

Indonesia's forest are protected in order to combat climate change, "

Maitar said in the statement. Local people in the area are heavily

reliant on the forest for food and building materials and face the

collapse of communities if clearing goes ahead, Greenpeace said. " The

locals can't depend on getting basic necessities from Java island or

other places. And because of climate change, they can't predict the

timing of rice harvests, " Maitar said. Sinar Mas could not be reached

for comment. http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j43bNvNJbN3vxoGLPWxe2F9l8-cQ

 

9) The Greenpeace ship Esperanza arrived this morning in Jayapura,

Papua, the last frontier of intact ancient forest in Indonesia, to

highlight the catastrophic impact that deforestation - for palm oil,

logging and other industry expansion - has on the global climate,

biodiversity loss and forest-dependent people. The Esperanza (Spanish

for «hope«) carries the message 'Melindungi Hutan, Menyelamatkan

Iklim', Indonesian for 'Protecting Forests Saves our Climate'. The

Esperanza will be touring the world's largest archipelago until 15

November, calling on the Indonesian government to implement an

immediate moratorium on all forest conversion, including expansion of

oil palm plantations, industrial logging, and other drivers of

deforestation. This moratorium will not only help curb the country's

greenhouse gas emissions, but will also safeguard the wealth of

tropical biodiversity and protect the livelihood of forest dependent

communities all across Indonesia, said Shailendra Yashwant, Campaigns, Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

http://www.diariodelweb.it/Articolo/Mondo/?d=20081006 & id=48231

 

10) For several days now, we have been making flights over the forests

of Papua in our helicopter. Here are the highlights - good and bad -

of what we have seen so far. Today we are flying using our Greenpeace

helicopter to cover one of the biggest palm oil operations in Papua.

We are supposed to be flying with some VIPs - the head of parliament's

Member of Papua Province and the head of forestry planning office of

Papua - but at the last minute they were not available. A journalist

from the major news paper in Indonesia, Media Indonesia, did fly with

us, and they will publish a big story. Our flight today covers the

palm oil plantation in Lereh, near Jayapura, owned by Sinar Mas Group.

Sinar Mas is the one of the biggest palm oil companies in Indonesia

where they already have more than one million hectares in concessions.

In Papua, Sinar Mas is planning to develop almost two million hectares

palm oil plantation plan and most of this area is still intact forest.

What we see is a surprise because we found new areas of Lereh being

cleared. Two months ago we flew over the same area and found a very

small operation clearing the forest. Today, we found at least seven

pieces of heavy machinery actively clearing in the middle of forest

with lot of sago tress (the Papuan local food) in the same area; we

also found some areas that had just been burnt. Burning the forest is

the one of simple way of clearing the forest but it also releases

large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. We still have many more

flights during the transit to Manokwari when we expect to see more

logging activity in Papua forest.

http://forest4climate.wordpress.com/2008/10/13/surveying-the-forest-from-on-high\

/

 

Papua New Guinea:

 

11) New revelations that K100 million have gone missing from the PNG

National Forest Authority is further evidence that the governance

surrounding forestry is out of control. In April this year, the

current Forest Minister, Belden Namah, said, " I have noticed a lot of

corruption going on within the forestry department. Most [forest]

officers are not supporting the landowners with their issues and are

not promoting government laws and policies that are already in place

to penalise the logging companies " . Currently, there are 15 cases

where landowners are taking logging companies to court for breaching

forestry laws. Greenpeace crew from the ship Esperanza have visited

remote areas of Papua New Guinea's Gulf and Western Provinces during

September to document what is going on. We found there were many

social and environmental problems caused by industrial logging, as

well breaches of the PNG Logging Code of Practice by logging

companies. Local people tell of total disrespect from the company

towards them. Examples of this include the destruction of sacred

sites, lack of promised development, withholding royalty payments,

logging too close to villages and endangering the food supply.

Infrastructure like roads, airstrips and ports are rudimentary for the

benefit of the logging operation and usually falls into disrepair once

a company moves on. The schools and medical facilities do not have

materials, equipment or medicines. The logging industry is involved in

a deception where exploitation masquerades as development. The

industry also makes over-inflated claims about the numbers of people

it employs and its contribution to rural development. Foreigners do

most of the skilled work, while PNG nationals are paid a pittance for

dangerous work, usually done with no safety equipment. Payslips

obtained by Greenpeace from two Rimbunan Hijau (RH)

concessions—Vailala and Wawoi Guavi—show workers working long hours

for very little pay. Many camp workers are brought in from other areas

and have no local fishing or hunting rights so must buy goods at

inflated prices from the company's canteen, the only store in the

area. One fortnightly payslip showed a worker being paid K185.25 for

114 hours of work. After costs for food were deducted, he took home

K5. Forestry workers are trapped in a debt cycle with logging

companies and have no option but to continue working.

http://www.islandsbusiness.com/islands_business/index_dynamic/containerNameToRep\

lace=MiddleMiddle/focusModuleID=18198/overideSkinName=issueArticle-full.tpl

 

Solomon Islands:

 

 

12) Dr Duncan spoke from an economic survey done here recently. He

said a more permanent change in the logging revenue stream would put

the Solomon Islands government under severe pressure. " Because the

timber industry has been a large factor in the country's recent

economic success, " he said. " Timber export made up 73 per cent of

total exports in 2006 and 67 per cent in 2007, " he said. Dr Duncan

said this timber boom cannot sustain the current logging rate because

it is far above the natural replacement rate. " The decline is now

expected as soon as 2010 given the huge increase in extraction in the

past couple of years, " he said. He said the budget position of the

Government is particularly vulnerable to change. According to the

Central Bank report for this year the export duty from logs fell by

$16.6 million in June during a dispute with logging companies over the

export price. This fall represented approximately 15 per cent of the

entire monthly revenue for the government. Dr Duncan said despite

warnings from Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Central Bank, the

rate of logging here had increased in the first part of this year. " It

seems likely that the end of Solomon Islands' timber boom is fast

approaching – whether 2010 or some short later, " he said. The recent

sharp fall in timber export revenue due to price dispute by loggers

and government has impacted on the government's revenue base. Dr

Duncan said this should be a warning of what is to come. " When Solomon

Islands' timber industry collapses, the government has to find a way

to make up for the loss of 15-20 per cent of total tax revenue, " he

said. He said sustainable logging is an option for the future of

forest in the country. Edith Bowles, Country Manager of World Bank,

said this is a serious case for Solomon Islands whose economic base

depended much on logging revenue.

http://solomonstarnews.com/index.php?option=com_content & task=view & id=3954 & change\

=71 & changeown=84 & Itemid=26

 

 

New Zealand:

 

13) A new advertising campaign for the wood processing industry was

aiming to educate the public on the ability of wood products to

sequester and store carbon from the atmosphere, using the slogan

" breathe in and hold " . As the price of carbon and the energy costs of

production continued to be incorporated into the cost of building

materials, wood would become increasingly competitive as a building

material. But it was up to local and central government to walk the

talk in their own purchasing decisions, he said. " You are

representatives of this community and I'm challenging you to put your

money where your mouth is. " I notice you have put a nice concrete

footpath by the river; ask the question - if you're into the

environmental benefits to the community, what example are you setting?

" The image of a wooden clad, wooden finished building is tremendous,

it makes us feel good, but we've got to promote that as we go forward

as communities of the future. " We can provide timber elements that

will last. You've got to make the decision as community leaders to use

those elements if you believe that, from a sustainability point of

view, wood is better. It will also support the forests you have in

this region and the people who work in the industry. "

http://www.gisborneherald.co.nz/Default.aspx?s=3 & s1=2 & id=6172

 

 

14) As the Matariki Forests sale moves into its final stages,

international interest is growing despite the turmoil in credit

markets. Paul Nichols of Rayonier New Zealand, which manages Matariki

Forests, says there are 12 serious buyers expressing interest for the

140,000ha estate. Indicative bids should start coming in some time in

the next 10 days, once the sale flier is sent out today, he says. The

tender process has an estimated closing date of " before Christmas "

with a final sale expected in quarter one 2009. Shareholders Rayonier

(40%), AMP Capital (35%) and Deutsche Bank (25%) unanimously agreed on

the sale at a board meeting earlier in the year, and have received a

series of expressions of interest from international bidders. Matariki

Forests is 85% radiata pine, 10% Douglas fir and the remainder

consisting of mixed wood types. There has been no reserve set yet. The

last major sale of this kind was in 2006 when Carter Holt Harvey sold

187,000ha to Hancock Timber Resource Group for $1.6 billion, equating

to around $9000 a hectare. Although this kind of price is probably no

longer viable in the current market, applying those figures to the

current sale would equate to around $1.26 billion. Mr Nichols places

this figure at the top end of Rayonier's valuations. When asked why

shareholders were looking to divest themselves of the company, he said

that the investors wanted to " realise their valuation. " Under current

credit conditions there's no sign of any debt-funded bids. Mr Nichols

says almost all of the interest has come from fund managers, with a

high percentage from pension funds. The majority of these buyers are

coming from North America, with some interest from the EU. There has

also been some sovereign fund interest from the Middle East.

Australian bids are described by Nichols as " muted " at this stage. The

forestry industry is often cited as a " counter-cyclical " industry

given its resilience in any market conditions. " Forestry is also quite

flexible in that harvests can be changed to suit market conditions, "

Mr Nichols said. With the falling New Zealand dollar, lower transit

costs and continued strong demand from China, the sale is certainly

less risky than most investments at the moment.

http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/buyers-stack-matariki-forests-despite-credit-crunch\

-36135

 

15) " It is time for politicians and farm leaders to stop using

knowledge of cobalt deficiency and incomplete economic analysis as

excuses for deforestation " , says Andrew McEwen, President of the NZ

Institute of Forestry. He was responding to comments made by Chris

Kelly, Chief Executive of Landcorp, on National Radio on Tuesday that

the forests his company was converting to dairy farms north of Taupo

were only established because there was no known cure for stock " bush

sickness " . His comments reflected similar ones made by the Minister of

Forestry and Agriculture, Jim Anderton, speaking as leader of the

Progressive Party at the Institute's " meet the political party

forestry spokespeople " in Wellington on Monday evening and previously

by Pete Hodgson a few years ago when, as Minister for Climate Change,

he said " the trees were planted in the wrong place " . " Bush sickness on

the Central North Island pumice soils was found to be caused by cobalt

deficiency in the early 1930s. By 1937, topdressing large areas of

deficient land became the norm, virtually eliminating bush sickness " ,

says Dr McEwen. " All of the trees that have been deforested in the

last few years were planted since that time, so there must have been

some other reason for their establishment. " A detailed study1 in the

1960s by agricultural and forestry economists of a Waikato land

development scheme demonstrated that, at that time, forestry would

generally give a better return than agriculture. There were

differences in the relative performance depending on assumptions of

social costs (such as effects on rural communities). " The study

compared agriculture and forestry over the full life of a forest crop

- rather different from using a relatively short period of high prices

to say that agriculture is superior, while all the poor years are

ignored " , said Dr McEwen. " But the study did not include environmental

costs, and we now have significant evidence of the effect of land use

on these " . http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0810/S00180.htm

 

16) The Greens want imports of illegally logged timber halted. Green

co-leader Russel Norman today released the party's forestry policy

which he said aimed to protect New Zealand's timber industry from

cheap, illegally logged rainforest timber. Dr Norman said the Ministry

of Agriculture and Forestry estimated the cost of overseas illegal

logging to the local industry at $266 million a year. " A ban on the

sale and import of illegal timber and wood products, combined with

certification of indigenous forest products and country-of-origin

labelling will go a long way to protecting both our industry and

workers -- and the irreplaceable rainforests of Papua New Guinea and

Indonesia, " he said. He said New Zealand also needed to avoid

introducing genetically engineered forests and said diversification

into higher value species including hardwood natives was needed to

reduce the need for toxic treatments. The party said the emissions

trading scheme added value to the forestry industry.

http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/greens-forestry-policy-tackles-illegal-logging-3612\

2

 

Australia:

 

17) Recent scientific reports and media coverage have highlighted the

dire predicament facing the Murray from drought, over-allocation and

climate change. Poor management of land along the river is compounding

the ability of these important wetland forests to function naturally

and is placing further stress on ecosystems in crisis and species

facing extinction. The VEAC has recommended to the Victorian

Government a system of new national and regional parks to protect

river red gum ecosystems and the many threatened plants and animals

that live there. It has also recommended flooding frequencies for

these wetland areas that have suffered for decades due to

over-allocation of water for irrigation and drought. Climate change

now adds a third, more urgent need for governments to buy back water

to protect the environment. The VEAC has also recommended

joint-management arrangements for the proposed national parks — a

first for Victoria. A new Barmah National Park covering part of the

most significant river red gum forest in Australia would be

co-operatively managed with the region's traditional owners, the Yorta

Yorta. Another smaller park would also be established further along

the Murray near Swan Hill in the Nyah-Vinifera Forest, and be jointly

managed by the Wadi Wadi. This model would bring employment plus

renewed dignity and purpose to the lands' traditional owners.

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/heritage-is-more-than-buildings-20081012-4z3m.h\

tml

 

18) On 3rd October 2008, three members of Wild Wielangta, South East

Forest Protection Group had a 30 minute meeting with David Llewellyn -

Minister responsible for Forestry and Threatened Species. David

Llewellyn agreed to send scientists into Coupe 19D and surrounding

areas to verify the sightings of swift parrots by community members.

He said he would make a decision about logging Coupe 19D once he had

obtained information from the scientists. A reprieve for the parrots

for a little bit longer!!!! Forestry Tasmania have since agreed to

stop the logging and woodchipping of Coupe 19D until after the 2008/09

swift parrot breeding season! This decision is a direct result of

survey information provided to Forestry Tasmania by members of the

community. Congratulations! and Thank you!! Forestry Tasmania are

collaborating with the Threatened Species Unit in DPIW and the Forest

Practices Authority (who authorise logging plans) to " …carry out a

strategic assessment of the Wielangta forests " . (Dr Hans Drielsma,

Forestry Tas) The Forest Practices Authority wants to " …assure us that

all parties are working towards ensuring a sound scientific basis for

the long term management of habitat for Swift Parrot across its

range " .

http://wildwielangta.edublogs.org/2008/10/11/breaking-newstemporary-reprieve-for\

-swift-parrots/

 

19) The suggestion for a head-to-head between celebrity gardener Don

Burke and former ABC gardening personality and anti-pulp mill

campaigner Peter Cundall came after Mr Burke was appointed

environmental adviser to the board of timber giant Gunns. ABC TV's

Lateline program approached both men to appear on Friday night's

program to debate the company's controversial proposal to build a pulp

mill in northern Tasmania's Tamar Valley. Mr Cundall said he'd would

have loved to face Mr Burke in a debate, Fairfax reports. Mr Burke's

appointment is a publicity stunt that will backfire, he said. Mr

Burke, meanwhile, said that while he respected Mr Cundall, he did not

want to be drawn into a televised debate. " I don't think you ever get

anywhere with a debate, " Fairfax quoted him as saying. Mr Burke told

AAP: " When I arrive in Tasmania in a couple of weeks I want catch up

with Peter and say hello. " " I don't want to make a big media thing out

of it. " I just want to chat with him and see what his concerns are. " A

Gunns spokesman told AAP there had been no challenge from Mr Cundall

for a debate and Mr Burke simply declined the Lateline invitation. " He

doesn't want to make it a big head-to-head thing on TV. " We have

employed Mr Burke as an environmental adviser not as a media

spokesman. " Greens leader Bob Brown said he had also phoned Mr Burke

on Friday. " He says that Gunns has told him that they won't be logging

old-growth forests, " Senator Brown told AAP. " If he believes that,

he'll have a stocking at the end of his bed this Christmas. "

http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/No-pulp-mill-debate-for-garde\

ning-stars-KAD9P?OpenDocument

 

20) Nature lovers and environmentalists were not common in these parts

they came from outside and they were not particularly welcome. They

were regarded as " blow-ins " , having come on an ill wind of new wave

environmentalism. When the Victorian Greens held their first branch

meeting in Healesville in 1995 there was already some concern from

Melbournians about the devastation of the forests caused by clear

felling. Hence, the major issue for the Greens was conserving the

biodiversity of the area. Greens member's brought with them new

knowledge about conservation and a determination to stop the logging

in old growth forests and the water catchments. They posed a serious

threat to the old guard. The memory of the 1983 Ash Wednesday

bushfires that killed 49 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes

was still fresh in the minds of local residents. And the

representatives of the forest industries traded on claims that logged

forests were safer. They also claimed that the forest workers were the

first at the fire front saving lives and this gave many of the loggers

a hero status. The Greens, they claimed would stop the clear- felling

and this would be the cause of future fires. Seemingly, both the major

political parties gave their support to the pro-logging fraternity.

The Liberals were believed to serve the interests of business and

Labor was perceived answerable to the CFMEU. The entry of the

Victorian Greens acted as a catalyst to challenge this monopoly but it

also raised the angst of some old-timer's and other pro-logging

community. It was probably fair to say that in the early to mid 1990s

the environment movement's campaigns across the nation were beginning

to make some inroads towards exposing the logging industry's practices

as well as the long term consequences for the environment. There were

major successes in reclaiming lands for national parks and in

protecting the vulnerable creeks and waterways, in revegetating vast

areas of eroded land and in the constant monitoring of planning

decisions. Local environment groups in the area gradually grew in

members and along with their city counterparts they were able to

mobilise against the forest devastation. Then the tide turned. The

environment groups were suddenly confronted with a groundswell of

fierce opposition from a well organised, well resourced pro-logging

lobby, with some groups even operating under the guise of

conservation. http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=7977

 

21) Preston Environment Group (PEG), the Global Warming Forest Group

and Murdoch University Student Guild converged on the Wellington

Discovery Forest near Wellington Mills over the weekend. The groups

participated in a series of workshops and eco-activities relating to

what they describe as unsustainable logging in South West native

forests. Almost 30 people attended the activities, including a number

of international students from Italy, Germany, Sweden, India and

America. PEG spokesman Peter Murphy said the weekend event was a

wake-up call for all politicians, especially new Minister for Logging,

Terry Redman and Opposition Minister for Agriculture and Forestry,

Mick Murray. He reminded them the forest issue had not gone away and

any plans to increase logging quotas would be fought vehemently. " We

want to see an immediate end to all logging and thinning in native

forest, as the native logging industry can now source all of its

timber requirements from plantations which are already in abundant

supply, " Mr Murphy said. Activities throughout the weekend included

bushwalking, bush tucker gathering, wildflower and wildlife spotting.

Murdoch University student and guild representative Vicki Edwards said

the protest aimed to raise awareness of what she said was unacceptable

logging of old growth trees. " We mainly went down as a learning tool

and to see for ourselves how it affects the local community, " Ms

Edwards said. " There were 15 guild members who went down and we feel

it is important for people to be aware of the unacceptable logging. "

Mr Redman is currently not speaking to the media. A representative

said he was undertaking briefings to familiarise himself with his new

portfolio. Mr Murray said he did not see an immediate end to native

logging in the short term. " The logging industry has its own

problems, " he said. " We have to look at the timber industry and

logging practices. " Waste needs to be controlled, if we were able to

control wastage we wouldn't need to cut as much native timber as we

do. " Well-known local documentary filmmaker Kim Redman was also on

hand to deliver a presentation showing what he described as third

world logging operations in the South West.

http://collie.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/environmental-groups-conv\

erge-on-wellington-forest/1323939.aspx

 

 

22) The Federal Government has received a report that claims New South

Wales is illegally logging river red gum forests. The National Parks

Association's report on internationally recognised wetlands on the

Riverina says logging has intensified since the river red gums were

listed on the international Ramsar convention. Georgina Woods's

analysis has found more than 6 per cent of the trees are being

illegally logged each year. " The logging on the river red gums does

not have an approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity

Conservation Act, " she said " We've written to the Federal Government

to try and bring this issue to a head, to try and draw attention to

the NSW Government before it's too late. " NSW Primary Industries

Minister Ian Macdonald says he is confident the report will be

rejected. " We believe we have been acting entirely within the law in

NSW and complying with the biodiversity laws at a federal level, " he

said The state is performing the first ever environmental impact

assessment on Riverina red gum logging. Federal Environment Minister

Peter Garrett says the Commonwealth has launched its own

investigation. " I expect to work collaboratively and cooperatively

with the State Government, " he said. " But I will take very seriously

the responsibilities we have under the Act for matters of national

environmental significance. " Mr Garrett says he expects a report back

in a few weeks.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/01/2378576.htm

 

 

23) NSW police are warning protesters not to interfere during planned

forest logging in the state's south, with reports activists plan to

converge on the area. NSW Forests plan to log sections of the Bermagui

State Forest in late October, and police say any illegal or dangerous

protest activities will not be tolerated. Police said they planned to

protect the loggers and would issue on the spot fines or court

attendance notices to protesters who disrupted the tree felling.

" Police from the local area command and various sections, including

the public order operations support group, highway patrol, and rescue

squad will be part of an operation which will be conducted in the area

of the logging and will focus on ensuring the protection of persons

engaged in lawful activities, " Superintendent Michael Willing said in

a statement today. " We have received information which leads us to

anticipate that a number of protesters will converge on the area. Our

message to them is clear. " We are committed to maintaining public

order, and anyone who engages in unlawful or dangerous activity in or

near the logging operation will have action taken against them. "

Police would allow peaceful protests, but swift action would be taken

if a " hard core minority " disrupted or hijacked genuine protests.

" Anyone who intends on protesting is encouraged to contact police to

discuss their intentions so we can facilitate lawful activity, " Supt

Willing said. " Our policing operation at the Bermagui State Forest is

not focused at preventing lawful and peaceful protest as we respect

peoples rights, but rather at unlawful and dangerous activity. "

http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/10/03/Police_warn_protesters_ahead_of_f\

orest_logging

 

24) More than 40 scientists have signed an open letter to Premier John

Brumby urging an end to mismanagement of water-starved river red gum

forests along the Murray. The letter calls on the Government to accept

advice that it protect 103,000 hectares of forest, including creating

five new national parks and establishing a regional park from Wodonga

to past Mildura. But an angry rally in Echuca yesterday heard an

opposing view: that timber workers, farmers and hunters also want

forest management improved, but believe banning forestry and cattle

grazing would be a disaster for the local environment and economy. The

Government is yet to formally respond to a three-year investigation by

the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council, which in July reported

that river red gum floodplains — home to 300 threatened or

near-threatened species — would be lost without increased water flows.

Citing research that found up to 75% of red gum forest was under

stress, the council's advice included boosting protection for the

internationally listed Barmah Forest wetlands. It estimated its

recommendations would cost about 50 jobs. The scientists' letter, seen

by The Age, describes the Murray forests as an ecosystem in decline,

degraded by current use. " It's a beautiful place that is suffering

from the way we are currently managing it, " Monash University

hydrologist Dr Tony Ladson said. The Echuca rally, attended by about

1000 people, was told the council had ignored research suggesting

properly managed grazing and logging would lead to healthier forests.

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/action-sought-on-river-gums-20081005-4uc3.h\

tml

 

25) The Conservation Council of Western Australia has welcomed the

forestry union's warning that too much native forest is being

harvested. The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union has

called for a meeting with WA Premier Colin Barnett, saying harvesting

rates are 30 per cent too high. The union has warned the industry

needs urgent intervention or jobs will be lost. The council's Beth

Schultz says it is about time the industry publicly acknowledged that

too much native timber is being felled. " We think that the

over-cutting rate is a great deal more than 30 per cent, 50 per cent

is probably nearer the mark, " she said. " It's been going on for so

long that the forests are in a very degraded state. " We think now is

the time to end all native forest logging and that is the policy of

the conservation council. " The council will seek its own meeting with

the Premier to convince him to end native forest logging.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/08/2385347.htm?site=southwestwa

 

26) The world's tallest hardwood tree has been discovered in Tasmania

just 4km from a popular tourist attraction, the state government's

forestry body says. Forestry Tasmania managing director Bob Gordon

said the swamp gum (eucalyptus regnans), dubbed Centurion, stands

between 100 and 101 metres tall. " It is the only known standing

hardwood tree in the world to be over 100 metres tall, " he said. Mr

Gordon said it was the tallest known tree in Australia. It is the

world's tallest eucalyptus tree, the tallest hardwood tree, and the

tallest flowering plant, he said. Centurion is 405cm in diameter and

its height was measured using laser survey equipment. It was

discovered in a state forest near the Tahune Airwalk tourist

attraction, 80km southwest of Hobart. A second giant swamp gum named

Triarius, standing 86.5 metres tall with a 390cm diameter, was found

alongside Centurion. Forestry Tasmania officer David Mannes said

Centurion may have been taller in the past. " It appears to have broken

off at the top, then re-sprouted a new healthy crown, " he said. The

two trees will be safeguarded under the state's Giant Tree Policy,

which provides immediate protection for trees taller than 85 metres.

Previously, the tallest known hardwood tree was Icarus Dream, a swamp

gum measured at 97 metres tall, in the state's Styx Valley about 100km

northwest of Hobart.

http://news.smh.com.au/national/worlds-tallest-hardwood-tree-in-tas-20081010-4y6\

r.html

 

27) Green thumb Don Burke is already uncomfortable in what he said was

a new job as Gunns Limited's paid " honest broker " for its

environmentally challenged Tasmanian pulp mill. The giant mill plans

to be 80 per cent reliant on the island's native forest for its 3.2

million tonnes of feedstock at start-up, said the timber company. Mr

Burke said he understood that in five years the feedstock would be 60

per cent plantation timber. " I said to them I'd like to do that

quicker. Obviously, it would be better for Tasmania to use plantation

timber. " The choice of Mr Burke, 61, follows his vocal support for the

mill over the past year, including as president of the green sceptics'

group, the Australian Environment Foundation. Mill opponents said Mr

Burke could lose national standing for working for a company that

woodchips old-growth forests and is four years into a contentious

civil prosecution of protesters. The TV bushman Harry Butler was

criticised for his decision to take a similar consultancy for the

Tasmanian government over the Franklin dam. " If the status quo of

environmental destruction in Tasmania's forests remains, Mr Burke will

be little more than a high-profile messenger in a 'greenwashing'

public relations campaign, " said Vica Bayley, a spokesman for The

Wilderness Society. Mr Burke confirmed he would be paid for his

consultancy, but said his opinions could not be bought. " I don't like

old-growth logging, " he said. " My track record is going into the areas

where the greenies will never go, and actually getting better

outcomes. " He pointed to his voluntary work for the federal government

setting up the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines

Authority 15 years ago.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/burkes-back-in-gunns-yard/2008/10/09/1223145\

542016.html

 

28) I understand the Victorian Labor (ALP) State Conference this

weekend considered the following motion: Preamble: Climate change is

already well under way and consequently Victoria's water supply is

very seriously endangered in both rural and urban regions. Despite

this, logging continues unabated in what remains of our mountain ash

forests and in the areas supposedly set aside as water catchment. This

is permitted to occur because of contracts with logging companies that

have export commitments for wood chips that are sold to millers at

ridiculously low prices (in the order of $8.50 per ton) i.e. the State

is subsidizing the millers at the expense of our water supply. Given

that Victoria now has plantation timber available to fulfil all our

requirements for construction and for paper, it is clear that

continuing to destroy the source of our water supply is an

unsustainable practice. Conference therefore resolves that it request

the State Government to: 1) Immediately ban logging in all water

catchment areas 2) Review forest management practice overall with the

intent of transferring all logging activity to plantation timber.

http://petercampbell.blogspot.com/2008/10/will-labor-stop-logging-melbournes.htm\

l

 

29) Forest activists have disrupted logging in a part of Tasmania that

was subject to a protesting truce, the state's forestry body says.

Police said they were called on Monday to remove a tree-sit protester

and about 20 other activists blocking a road to a harvesting area of

state forest in the Upper Florentine Valley, 120km west of Hobart.

Forestry Tasmania spokesman Steve Whiteley said the area was formerly

covered by a truce signed between Forestry Tasmania and the Still

Wild, Still Threatened activists in early 2007. " The truce provided

the opportunity for this group to peacefully lobby politicians in the

lead up to the last federal election. " Mr Whiteley said logging

resumed in the area last week after it was suspended in June last year

to give protesters time to convince politicians to reduce the

legislated logging effort. " Having failed to convince politicians the

10 per cent of the Upper Florentine available for harvesting was too

much, it would be disappointing if this group again resorts to

unlawful activities that hurt contractors. " Mr Whiteley said the

protest could cost contractors up to $10,000 a day. Still Wild, Still

Threatened activist Christo Mills said the action could last for days

and would continue until police arrested all of the protesters. " A

forest defender is perched high on a tree-sit to protest against the

continued decimation of Tasmania's carbon dense old growth forests.

" We are speaking out against the climate crimes which continue to be

perpetuated by Forestry Tasmania and Gunns Limited, and are calling on

Kevin Rudd to take immediate action and put a stop to the rampant

woodchipping of some of our most significant carbon sinks. "

http://news.theage.com.au/national/activists-disrupt-logging-in-tasmania-2008101\

3-4zk0.html

 

30) The wife of a convener of the Australian Conservation Foundation

is being charged with the alleged removal of 150 trees on the couple's

Blue Mountains property. Suzanne Tzannes, owns the weekender with her

husband, Ross Tzannes, who is also a governor of WWF, at Mount Irvine,

next to the World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains National Park. In the

bizarre land-clearing case, she is being charged in the Land and

Environment Court by Blue Mountains City Council. Ms Tzannes will

plead not guilty to the charge, which her husband described as " absurd

and embarrassing " . The couple own the Mount Irvine Road property

jointly but there is no suggestion that Mr Tzannes was involved in

clearing the trees. Only Ms Tzannes is named in the court documents.

" I deny the allegation and am defending the matter, " she told the

Herald in a statement. The council confirmed it was pursuing the

land-clearing charges but said it could not comment publicly about a

court case. The contractor who allegedly bulldozed the site is facing

separate charges in the court, relating to the unauthorised removal of

trees in October 2006. The cleared land, visible from a nearby fire

trail, shows piles of felled logs and heaped branches, mostly from

eucalypt trees. But the Tzanneses say most of the felled timber dates

from before they acquired the land four years ago, and the recent work

took place at the request of the Rural Fire Service, with the

council's knowledge. Ms Tzannes alleges a council officer had

recommended that dead wood be cleared from the property, and cited a

statement from a retired Presbyterian minister as a supporting witness

to that conversation. " The work was performed in an environmentally

sensible way by a qualified contractor, solely for the protection of

the community and the lives of our fire fighters, " Ms Tzannes said.

" The old fallen timber had completely blocked the official fire trail

through the property and to the fire hydrant located on the land in

question. " I have done everything that a reasonable person would do to

resolve the issue with council. The small area of bush that this

matter is about is now in better condition than it has been in

decades. " The couple say they have planted hundreds of trees and

shrubs on their property. Mr Tzannes, who isalso a lawyer and a former

president of the Sydney Film Festival, said he and his wife were

overseas when the contractor was working on the property.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/conservationists-wife-in-trees-row/2008/10/1\

2/1223749845503.html

 

31) Forestry Tasmania wants protesters who blocked access to a

harvesting area of state forest to repay the estimated $10,000 cost of

their actions. A protester tethered to a boom gate and 16 other

activists from the group Still Wild, Still Threatened abandoned their

blockade of a site in the Upper Florentine Valley, 120km west of

Hobart, after a police warning on Monday. There were no arrests.

Forestry Tasmania spokesman Steve Whiteley said the protest cost up to

$10,000 in lost production. " It was a publicity stunt to start the

protest season, " he said. " We make an offer each year to discuss the

issues but the evidence suggests that this is just the start of

another protest season and we can expect more of them. " Police

Inspector Glen Woolley said the protesters had aimed to delay forestry

employees from reaching their workplace. If they did so again they

faced legal action, he said. Still Wild, Still Threatened activist

Christo Mills said the group was speaking out against " climate crimes "

perpetuated by Forestry Tasmania and the timber company Gunns Limited.

" We are calling on (Prime Minister) Kevin Rudd to take immediate

action and put a stop to the rampant woodchipping of some of our most

significant carbon sinks, " he said. Mr Whiteley said the activists

were using global warming as a cover. " Forestry is the only carbon

positive industry and it's a shame that some forest activists are so

focused on their anti-forestry campaign, they can't see the real

threat to the planet is not forestry, but those industries reliant on

fossil fuels. " But Australian Greens leader Bob Brown said Forestry

Tasmania's claim that logging was carbon positive was " a stunning

lie " . The Tasmanian Senator said he had written to Mr Rudd appealing

for urgent federal intervention to stop Gunns Ltd destroying heritage

tall eucalypt and rainforest in the Upper Florentine Valley. " This

forest is habitat for many native species and is a huge hedge against

climate change as it holds more than 2000 tonnes per hectare of

greenhouse gases, " he said.

http://forestaction.wordpress.com/2008/10/13/first-tassie-treesit-of-the-season-\

costs-logging-company-10000/